Ingredients for Success

In the article, Success built to last: Creating a life that matters by Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery and Mark Thompson in the Fall 2007 Rotman Magazine the authors make some very interesting points regarding the ingredients for success. They conclude that “success in the long run has less to do with finding the best idea or business model than it does with discovering what matters to us as individuals. Extraordinary people, tams and organizations are simply ordinary people doing extraordinary things that matter to them.” They call people who have long term success “builders.” They found that these people continually strived to create something that was new or better that would endure. They found that the “builders” found lasting success when they had three elements aligned: The first is meaning – “what you do must matter deeply to you.” The second is “a highly developed sense of accountability, audacity, passion and responsible optimism.” The third was to “find effective ways to take action.” They also make a great point that “When achievement for you or your organization comes without meaning, it doesn’t last.” The bottom line message that I got from the article was “to make meaning” and success would follow.

Rotman Magazine http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news/magazine.htm is an excellent resource for ideas on creativity, design, leadership and team building